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Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey appeared before a U.S. Senate panel on May 3rd to defend his agency's conduct under his leadership during the 2016 elections:
Comey acknowledged that the realization the bureau could have affected the election's outcome left him feeling "mildly nauseous." But, he added, "honestly, it wouldn't change the decision." Comey has been transformed into an unusual kind of political celebrity over the past year, his decisions coming in for sharp criticism from almost every point of the political spectrum.
News reports have cited anonymous sources within the intelligence community casting him as too fond of the spotlight, despite his repeated insistence to the contrary. Whether he sought it or not, Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing was yet another center-stage moment for the FBI director. Cable networks carried virtually uninterrupted coverage of his testimony from the moment he took his seat before a scrum of news photographers.
Comey explained his reasoning behind the decision to inform Congress about Clinton emails discovered during an investigation into Anthony Weiner, and said that he had made the right choice. One event that factored into the decision and his earlier July 2016 announcement about the Hillary Clinton investigation was Bill Clinton's meeting with former Attorney General Loretta Lynch. At Wednesday's hearing, Comey faced criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike on topics including the FBI's delay in disclosing an investigation into the Trump campaign and the decision to not charge Huma Abedin for mishandling classified information. On the day before the hearing, Hillary Clinton blamed the FBI Director for her loss, while President Trump tweeted that "FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!"
Comey appeared to confirm that the FBI is investigating whether its agents leaked information to Rudy Giuliani, a Trump ally. He also took the time to denigrate WikiLeaks by calling it "intelligence porn", and alleging that WikiLeaks acted as a "conduit for the Russian intelligence services or some other adversary of the United States just to push out information to damage the United States". Here's what Julian Assange had to say in response. Comey did not confirm whether or not the government is planning to charge Julian Assange with crimes related to his organization's recent activities. CNN reported in April that the U.S. is preparing to charge Assange with... something, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo recently called WikiLeaks a "non-state hostile intelligence service".
Also at The Washington Post, CNN, and The New York Times (editorial).
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday May 05 2017, @01:11PM (5 children)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday May 05 2017, @02:46PM (4 children)
Is there any really independent institution in America? or any system at all for that matter?
If politicians really want they usually can and will control institutions but they are there for a reason and soon reality and Murphy gives free lessons.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 05 2017, @02:54PM (3 children)
Might be part of Comey's extended ego trip. He thinks that he is leading an agency that is the last line of defense against terrorism, drugs, mass/police shooters, the dark web, the failure of democratic institutions, etc.
"Look at me! I tell the hard truths to Democrats and Republicans alike! I make the hard decisions! The FBI is not a corrupt mass surveillance agency!"
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday May 05 2017, @04:07PM (2 children)
More likely is that he is being blackmailed. That usually is the biggest motivator in this business. All those closets are up to the roof in skeletons.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday May 05 2017, @07:32PM (1 child)
Yep. You could tell when he was giving his speeches around that time he was scared shitless, as if there were literally a sniper's barrel pointed at his head from atop the balcony, like Principal Skinner in the Pretzel-Wagon episode of the Simpsons.
It could even be something simple, such as his involvement in HSBC, an organization which also laundered drug cartel money and was involved in the finances of some involved in 9/11, if the Wikileaks-hosted Stratfor e-mails (specifically the one that says the Jews did it) are to be believed. For somebody in his position even knowingly turning a blind eye to such activity means involvement.
Of course, Obama's justice department was run like prohibition-era Chicago, so it was wise of Comey to tread lightly, lest he be on the wrong end of a Chicago Typewriter*.
* The Thompson Submachine gun
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @07:56PM
Well, you gotta remember, once the democrats lost their slave trade, they had look elsewhere for fundage. So they turn to organized crime. They really do run the show like gangsters, using worker gangs (now called 'unions') and flexibly enforced regulations to shake down small business (oil, mining, transport, entertainment), engage in gun/drug running, you name it. They are mean motherfuckers, and you should read their followers in the net, extremely tyrannical. Everybody is wagging the dog here. The democrats own the republicans. That contract was signed in '68. They are *bigger than U.S. Steel!*